What City Science does

City Science is a UK-based decarbonisation engineering firm founded in 2015 in Exeter that helps public and private organisations develop and deliver evidence-based net-zero strategies across transport, energy, and the built environment. The company is structured around two complementary offerings: a professional services practice delivering decarbonisation consulting, transport modelling, energy planning, and carbon accounting, and a proprietary technology platform called Cadence. Cadence is a cloud-native GIS platform that enables users without specialist training to design, build, and publish interactive maps, integrating transport, energy, climate, and SATURN/UFM model data alongside Ordnance Survey layers, and exposing functionality through a public API.

The Cadence product suite includes Workflows for automated geospatial data preparation, Lightning for high-speed browser-based visualisation of large datasets, Stories for interactive map-based narratives used in public consultation, Isochrones for travel-time analysis, Desire Lines for movement flow visualisation, and a Managed Data Services offering that outsources spatial data operations. The platform's Data Catalogue holds 7,000+ pre-curated planning datasets, including a 3,700+ dataset release in March 2025, and is offered through Free, Professional, and Enterprise tiers with a self-serve signup at cadence360.cityscience.com.

City Science generates revenue through subscription SaaS for Cadence, project-based decarbonisation and digital consulting engagements, and CPD-accredited training programmes. Its go-to-market combines product-led growth (freemium Cadence, the annual 30 Day Map Challenge, and a help-centre-led self-serve motion) with enterprise field sales for consulting and large-platform deployments into UK local authorities, combined authorities, transport bodies, and government agencies. Named customers include Somerset County Council, Oxfordshire County Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, the Department for Business and Trade, England's Economic Heartland, Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership, LDA Design, and the University of Exeter; the firm was appointed in March 2025 to the £250M DESNZ Energy and Net Zero Professional Services Framework as one of 43 suppliers, and is committed to achieving net-zero by 2028 with SBTi-aligned targets.

Name

City Science

Legal name

City Science Corporation Limited

Website

https://cityscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

City Science is a UK decarbonisation engineering firm founded in 2015 that combines professional consulting services with its Cadence cloud-native GIS platform to help local authorities, combined authorities, and government agencies plan and deliver net-zero transport, energy, and built environment strategies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Software & Decarbonisation Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Management Consulting Services (54161), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Decarbonization Strategy & Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) Advisory (EUABAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sector-Specific Net-Zero Pathways & Benchmarking (hard-to-abate methodologies) (EUABAKAI), Scope 1–3 GHG Inventory Strategy, Data Governance & Controls (advisory) (EUABAKAD), Regulatory & Disclosure Strategy (CSRD/ESRS, ISSB/IFRS S2, SEC, TCFD) (EUABAKAH)

Keywords

• Decarbonisation consulting
• Geospatial GIS platform
• Net zero planning
• Transport decarbonisation
• Carbon accounting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Exeter

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cadence SaaS Subscriptions: Cloud-based GIS platform offered through tiered subscription model. Free tier with limited functionality, Professional tier for advanced features, Enterprise tier for organisations requiring distributed GIS access across teams.
2. Decarbonisation Consulting Services: Professional services including decarbonisation strategies, transport modelling, energy planning, and net zero scenario development for local authorities and organisations.
3. Digital Consulting Services: Geospatial capability modernisation consulting covering data strategy, architecture, governance, process redesign, migration, and adoption programmes.
4. CPD-Accredited Training: Free training sessions for Cadence users; organisations with 10+ potential users can request dedicated team training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

City Science operates as a dual-offering company comprising professional decarbonisation consulting services and the Cadence cloud-native GIS platform. Cadence enables organisations to design, build, and publish interactive maps without specialist training, supported by features such as Workflows, Lightning, Stories, Isochrones, and a catalogue of 7,000+ pre-curated planning datasets. Consulting services span Net Zero Pathways, Transport Strategy & Planning, Energy Strategy & Insight, Carbon Accounting, Data Engineering, and Net Zero Partnerships for Local Authorities.

Product overview

City Science operates as a dual offering company comprising professional decarbonisation consulting services and the Cadence technology platform. The core product is Cadence, a cloud-native GIS platform enabling users to design, build, and publish interactive maps without specialist training. Cadence is offered in multiple tiers: Free (basic mapping), Professional (full features), and Enterprise (organization-wide deployment). Key add-on modules include Cadence Workflows for automated data preparation, Cadence Lightning for fast visualization of large datasets, Cadence Stories for interactive map-based narratives, Cadence Managed Data Services for outsourced data management, Isochrones for travel time analysis, and Site Analysis for location-specific assessments. The platform includes a Data Catalogue with over 7,000 pre-curated planning datasets. City Science also provides professional services including Transport Strategy & Planning, Energy Strategy & Insight, Carbon Accounting, Data Engineering, and Net Zero Partnerships for Local Authorities, plus Cadence Digital Consulting and CPD-accredited Training programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cadence: A GIS (Geographic Information System) platform developed by City Science for mapping, geospatial data visualisation, and analysis. Cadence enables users to design, build and publish interactive maps with features including isochrones, desire lines, stories, and workflow automation. Available as a free platform and professional/enterprise tiers.

Products and services

• Cadence Platform Cloud-native GIS platform enabling users to design, build, and publish interactive maps without specialist training, with tiered access (Free, Professional, Enterprise) and modules including Workflows, Lightning, Stories, and Managed Data Services.
• Cadence Workflows Automation module that streamlines data ingestion, validation, and pre-processing for geospatial analytics, enabling automated spatial data preparation pipelines.
• Cadence Lightning High-performance visualization engine enabling lightning-fast exploration and interaction with even the largest enterprise datasets directly in the browser.
• Cadence Stories Interactive storytelling tool that combines maps, text and images into seamless narratives for public consultation and data sharing.
• Cadence Managed Data Services Managed service handling complex, high-volume spatial data management, ensuring organisations have clean, current and secure datasets ready to use.
• Cadence Isochrones Analytical tool that calculates and visualises travel times from a given location, showing accessibility within specific time thresholds by different transport modes.
• Cadence Data Catalogue Pre-curated collection of 7,000+ planning datasets including transport, energy, climate, and spatial boundary data accessible within the platform.
• Cadence Digital Consulting Professional consulting services helping organisations modernise geospatial capability, including data strategy, workflow redesign, data migration, and enterprise-wide implementation support.
• Cadence Training CPD-accredited training programmes including live instructor-led sessions, self-paced tutorials, and personalised team training for organisations with 10+ users.
• Net Zero Pathways for Regions Strategic consulting service helping regions develop pathways to achieve net zero emissions through evidence-based analysis and planning.
• Transport Strategy & Planning Advisory service helping local authorities and transport bodies develop sustainable transport strategies and decarbonisation plans.
• Energy Strategy & Insight Consulting service supporting energy planning including Local Area Energy Plans, heat networks, and infrastructure delivery pipelines.
• Carbon Accounting Service measuring and managing carbon footprints across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions for organisations committed to decarbonisation.
• Data Engineering Service helping organisations establish robust data foundations including strategy, architecture, governance, pipelines, and quality assurance.
• Net Zero Partnerships for Local Authorities Partnership model supporting local authorities in developing and delivering net zero strategies with ongoing advisory and analytical support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 21.6% reduction in carbon intensity (from 27.0 to 21.1 tCO2e per £m revenue) year-on-year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 3 March 2025City Science is one of 43 suppliers appointed to the £250 million DESNZ Energy and Net Zero Professional Services Framework. The 24-month framework (extendable to 48 months) covers seven sectors: nuclear, renewables, hydrogen, heat networks, oil and gas, emerging technologies, and industrial transformation. Enables City Science to provide decarbonisation and clean energy transition consulting to DESNZ and partner organisations.
• Heat SchememinorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership being explored to assist employees in decarbonising their homes through Heat Scheme's home energy retrofit programmes. Supports the company's net-zero commitments by addressing employee commuting and homeworking emissions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Esri UK: UK arm of the global GIS market leader, supplying ArcGIS to virtually every UK local authority and planning body. Competes head-on with Cadence for GIS visualisation and spatial analytics spend across the same public-sector buyers.
• WSP: Global engineering professional services firm with a substantial environment and decarbonisation advisory practice serving UK local authorities on transport, energy and net-zero planning. Comparable consulting capability, but operating at vastly larger scale across many sectors beyond decarbonisation.
• Buro Happold: International engineering consultancy with dedicated sustainability, energy and decarbonisation practices working with city and regional governments. Comparable to City Science's energy strategy, transport decarbonisation and built-environment advisory work, but at significantly larger scale.
• Mott MacDonald: Global engineering, management and development consultancy with strong UK presence in transport decarbonisation, energy planning and sustainability advisory. Overlaps with City Science's local-authority transport and energy strategy work, but as part of a much broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Eunomia Research & Consulting: UK environmental and sustainability consultancy providing evidence-based advice on climate, waste, resources and net-zero strategy for local authorities. Comparable in evidence-based, science-led decarbonisation consulting for UK public sector.
• CARTO: Location intelligence and cloud GIS platform offering spatial analytics, data visualisation and SaaS subscriptions to enterprises and public sector. Directly comparable to Cadence on cloud-native GIS, subscription tiers, and use cases in urban planning and sustainability.
• Ricardo: UK-headquartered engineering and strategic consulting firm with a significant energy, transport and net-zero practice. Directly comparable to City Science in serving UK local authorities and combined authorities on transport decarbonisation, energy strategy and net-zero pathway work.
• Mapbox: Cloud-native mapping and geospatial analytics platform with freemium and enterprise tiers and an extensive developer ecosystem. Direct comparable to City Science's Cadence platform on cloud-native GIS, APIs, custom map styles, and PLG-to-enterprise motion.
• Element Energy: UK energy and climate change consultancy with a strong local-authority focus on Local Area Energy Planning, heat networks and net-zero pathways. Closely mirrors City Science's energy strategy and decarbonisation advisory offering to UK public sector clients.

Emerging players

• Anthesis Group: International sustainability consultancy offering climate strategy, carbon accounting and net-zero advisory to corporates and public sector. Comparable to City Science's decarbonisation and carbon-accounting consulting services, particularly for complex multi-stakeholder programmes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cityscienceuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-science

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City Science